Gusseted angle for jig construction and the like



June 19, 1962 o. c, MILLER 3,039,570

GUSSETED ANGLE FOR JIG CONSTRUCTION AND THE LIKE Filed Feb. 18. 1959 INVENTOR ORVILLE C. MILLER BY Z 4 ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,039,570 GUSSETED ANGLE FOR JIG CONSTRUCTEON AND THE LIKE Orville C. Miller, Maplewood, Mm, assignor to Carr Lane Manufacturing Co., Maplewood, Met, a corpora- Filed Feb. 18, 1959, Ser. No. 794,163 4 Claims. {CL 189-34) mined angles, a variety of methods have heretofore been used to create such angularity, most of them relatively clumsy, inexact, and likely to be disturbed by the subsequent jig-welding operation. The time required for construction of jigs by conventional methods, and for verifying and correcting their angular alignment, has been a substantial factor in the total cost of jigs.

The article herein described in its several embodiments, is made with mechanical precision which, at first glance, might seem unwarranted for a part playing no mechanical function after its incorporation into a jig during the course of its construction. Nevertheless the advantages which'accrue from the use of this article, as hereinafter described, have demonstrated, contrary to such preliminary expectation, the great practical advantages of using a precision-toolmachine element, even though it ceases to have a mechanical function once the jig geometry is established and secured by welding.

The objects of the present invention will be manifest from the description which follows but may be summarized in part as including: providing a prefabricated structural article for use as a gusseted jig angle, including base plates which are readily adjustable at precise angularity which may be measured from the plates themselves; providing means whereby said angularity may be preliminarily fixed with adequate securernent; and providing gusset plate segments whereby the determined angularity of the base plates may be finally secured, as by welding, without disturbing the angularity so established.

In the accompanying drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of a preferred form of the adjustable gusseted angle which embodies the present invention, open to an angle somewhat greater than 96;

FIGURE 2 is a right end view thereof;

FEGURE 3 is an edge view of the article of FIGURE 1 shown tack-welded;

FIGURE 4 shows a modified embodiment of the invention embodying arcuate gusset plates, opened to and tack-welded at a silghtly greater angle; and

FEGURE S is a plan view of another embodiment of invention utilizing an interconnected gusset tie member, tack-welded in 180 position.

Referring now to FIGURE 1, I utilize a pair of base plates generally designated '10, 11, including a first pair of tangs 12 and 16 and a second pair of tangs 14, 15. The inwardly presented ends of the tangs 12, 13, 14, and 15 are rounded with respect to a hinge axis a, estab-lished by boring the tangs at the midpoint of their thickness. The larger surfaces of the base plates 1t), 11 are machined on both sides for parallelism and flatness. In order to permit the plates lit, 11 to be fixed at angles such as the angle d shown in FlGURE 3 which may be precisely measured from either the inside or outside machined surfaces thereof, clearance is provided by rounding the inner ends of the tangs so that they project beyond the hinge axis a an amount less than half the thickness of the base plates 11), 11.

"ice

The first pair of tangs 12, 13 are hingedly connected along the axis a by a dowel pin 16 which is driven into them to provide a hinging fit without looseness. The second pair of tangs 14, 15 are connected by a stripper bolt 17 having a hex socket fillister head 18 at its end presented outward, and a screw threads 19 upon which a nut 20 is mounted between said second pair of tangs and the first pair of tangs. The tangs are perpendicularly cut, with reference to the base plates 11? and 11, so that the second pair of tangs 14, 15 have parallel adjacent edge surfaces which, when presented against each other for frictional engagement, establish clearance b between the first pair of tangs 12, 13 with respect to each other. Accordingly, while both the stripper bolt 17 and the dowel pin 16 present machined surfaces on which there is a close fit for hinging, frictional engagement of the base plates 10, 11 (used for setting them preliminarily at desired angularity) is effected solely by tightening the stripper bolt 17. In order to provide the angle with structural strength, each of the base plates 11 11 has a gusset plate segment 22, 21 mounted thereon, preferably by welding, in parallel adjacent alignment, perpendicular to the base plates 10, 11 and to the hinge axis a. As appears from the drawing, the gusset plate segments 21, 22 are mounted on the sides of the base plates 10, 11 which are both either inside or outside the desired angle d, as discussed above; in this sense they may be referred to as being on the same sides of the base plates 10, 11. The base plate segments 21, 22 are similar to each other, and symmetrically disposed sideward with respect to the hinge axis but set axially at levels staggered" sufiiciently that the plates will pass each other in such parallel adjacent alignment. As shown 0 in FIGURE 3, when the base plates 10, 11 are brought to such an angle that the gusset plate segments 21, 22 overlap, they may be secured to each other by tack welds w connecting the rectilinear, angularly-cut edges e of either plate segment 21, 22, to some adjacent portion of the other plate. The gusset plate segments 21, 22, being in planes parallel to and closely adjacent each other, overlap each other through the range of angularity for which the article is intended to be used. Adequate structural strength may be achieved by tack-welding the gusset plate segments 21, 22 remote from the axis a without heating so extensively as to distort the angularity fixed by the stripper bolt '17. Thus, jig members which may be secured to the base plates lit and 11 (as by welding or bolting) are not warped out of desired alignment with each other.

Referring to the alternate embodiment shown in FIG- URE 4, the gusset plate segments 21', 22', there shown have arcuate outer edges 2' being portions of a circle described about the hinge axis a. The arcuate edges e are presented parallel and closely adjacent each other at the same clearance throughout the entire angular travel in which they may overlap. Thus a welder may accustom himself to the particular construction and make identical connecting tack welds w to such arcuate edges 2, e regardless of the angularity (within such travel) at which the base plates 10', 11' are presented; while the frictional engagement obtained by securing the stripper bolt 17', holds the base plates in precise alignment.

Except as specially described and numbered, the embodiment of FIGURE 4 above described, as well as that of FIGURE 5 described hereafter, have detailed parts corresponding to those of the first-described embodiment, and similar number save for the addition of the superscripts and respectively.

Referring now to the embodiment shown in FIGURE 5, the gusset plate segments 22", 21" are secured as by welding to the base plates 10", 11" precisely as shown 3 in FIGURE 1 save for the fact that instead of being afiixed at levels adjacent each other, they are spaced from each other a distance substantially equal to the thickness of one such gusset plate segment. This permits their interconnection over a broader range of angles than the embodiment shown in FIGURE 1, by the interposition between the gusset plate segments 21", 22", of a gusset tie or connector plate 23 of substantially the same thickness. From FIGURE 4 it is apparent that such gusset connector or tie plate 23 may be applied when the base plates 11" are at the 180 angularity shown, or at any greater angle at which it would clear the adjacent edges of the base plates 10', 11"; or at any lesser angle down to the acute angle at which the gusset plate segment 21" would abut the base plate 10" and the gusset plate segment 20" would abut the base plate 11". Throughout this wide range of angularity, defined between the base plates 10", 11" and fixed by the stripper bolt 17, the connector plate 23, interposed between the gusset plate segments 21" and 22 and welded to each by tack welds w, will serve as a strong structural connection. Further variation in angularity may be achieved by cutting the connector plate 23 to somewhat arcuate outlines. The depth of the connector plate 23 is not critical, for the 180 angularity shown in FIGURE 5 it may be somewhat less than the height of the gusset plate segments 21", 22". While the embodiment of FIGURE 5 sacrifices the feature of the other embodiments that no additional gusseting is required, it thus possesses great adaptability.

The embodiments of FIGURES 1 and 4 may be modified to provide for difierent ranges of angularity by providing gusset plate segments 21, 22, 21', 22 extending over a longer or shorter arc than shown. Likewise other variations may be made in size, proportions, and detail, to suit particular uses. Accordingly, this invention is not to be construed narrowly, but rather as fully co-extensive with the claims hereof.

I claim:

1. An adjustable pre-fabricated gusseted angle for use in jig construction and the like, comprising a pair of base plates, means mounting said base plates on a hinge axis, said means including a hinge pintle, a first pair of tangs journalled thereon integral with said plates and having clearance with respect to each other, and a second pair of tangs journalled about said axis, integral with said plates, and having adjacent edge surfaces secura'ble in frictional edge surface engagement against each other, friction-adjusting means for said second pair of tangs to set and secure the angularity of the base plates as desired, together with a gusset'fplate segment rigidly afi'ixed on each of the base plates and on the same sides thereof and perpendicular thereto and to the hinge axis in planes adjacent to each other whereby to permit welding therebetween.

2. An adjustable gusseted angle as defined in claim 1, the gusset plate segments being steel and having edges describing arcs about the hinge axis, said edges being presented closely adjacent each other over the range of angularity at which the angle is to be adjusted, whereby the Welded connection may readily be made between them.

3. An adjustable gusseted angle as defined in claim 1, the gusset plate segments being in planes parallel to each other and their opposed surfaces being axially spaced a distance substantially equal to the thickness, of a gusset tie plates which may be interposed and interconnected therebetween.

4. A weldable pre-fabricated gusseted angle for use in jig construction and the like, comprising a pair of steel base plates, means mounting said base plates on a hinge axis, friction-applying means at the hinge to secure the base plates at a desired angle to each other, and similar steel gusset plate segments rigidly afiixed on the same sides of the base plates, perpendicular to said base plates and to the hinge axis, and equally spaced laterally on opposite sides of said axis, and in axially oifset, closely adjacent planes, the segments having edge portions remote from the hinge axis presentable adjacent each other over a range of angular rotation of the base plates about the axis.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 570,767 Pennington Nov. 3, 1896 821,168 Johndro May '22, 1906 1,298,640 Balzhiser Apr. 1, 1919 1,625,735 Maurer Apr. 19, 1927 1,945,987 Ware Feb. 6, 1934 1,959,832 Lesh May 22, 1934 2,216,739 Hines Oct. 8, 1940 2,351,773 Lovenston June 20, 1944 2,632,533 MacKenzie Mar. 24, 1953 2,759,268 Cook Aug. 21, 1956 

